Continuity in Multi-Device Interaction: An Online Study

Abstract

Techniques for multi-device interactions are finding their way into commercial products. This means that people are now exposed to possibilities of interacting with and across their devices, and this presents a valuable opportunity for studying their uptake and use in real life. In this paper we investigate and discuss the emerging multi-device interaction concept of "continuity", which allow an activity to begin on one device and continue on another. We present a study of the challenges people have experienced in the use of a specific new product offering such functionality, namely Apple's Continuity. The study was done through surveying 3361 posts from technology web sites, discussion forums, and blogs, with a qualitative analysis of 1603 posts. Our findings present challenges in six themes of privacy, appropriation, customization, awareness, exclusion, and troubleshooting in relation to continuous interaction across devices. We further discuss the high-level implications of our findings through four design considerations for continuity in multi-device interaction.